Made in Prague - The New Czech Cinema

The festival includes the British premieres of Alice Nellis’s unusual musical film, ‘Little Girl Blue’, featuring Iva Bittova (and the voice of Nina Simone) and David Ondricek’s ‘Grand Hotel’, a quirky tale in which an amateur meteorologist plans to escape his north Bohemian home in a hot air balloon.David Ondricek, who also made the highly successful ‘singles’ comedy, ‘Loners, will be present to discuss the film.

Recent festival highlights include ‘Beauty in Trouble’, a beautifully shot story of love and redemption by Jan Hrebejk, who made the Oscar-nominated ‘Divided We Fall’, and Bohdan Slama’s ‘Something Like Happiness’, a sympathetic study of the downside of contemporary society, and the outstanding film of recent years. Helena Trestikova’s powerful and moving documentary, ‘Marcela’,Petr Nikolaev’s ‘underground’ portrait of the 1970s, ‘It’s Gonna Get Worse…’, and Dan Wlodarcyk’s ‘The Indian and the Nurse’, a sensitive take on Czech-Roma relations, complete a multi-faceted portrayal of life in the Czech Republic.

Finally, three programmes pay tribute to the powerful tradition of puppet animation. Last year’s London Festival success ‘Fimfarum II’, based on Jan Werich’s legendary tales, is followed up by Jan Balej’s grotesque stories of what might happen on ‘One Night in One City’. For children of all ages, there will be a special programme devoted to the work of veteran animator Bretislav Pojar, whose films have charmed generations.

Peter Hames

Sunday 4 November, 12 pm

Curzon Mayfair, 38 Curzon St., London W1J

Box Office: 0871 7033 989

£6.50/£5.50

Marketa Lazarova

Frantisek Vlacil, Czechoslovakia, 1967, 162’

Voted the best Czech film ever made, Frantisek Vlacil’s 1967 film Marketa Lazarova is a powerful and passionate medieval epic set in the mid-13th Century. Based on avant-garde writer Vladislav Vancura’s novel, it follows the rivalry between two warring clans and the doomed love affair. Re-creating an authentic world and owing as much to Bergman and Kurosawa as it does to the rich tapestry of Czech fiction, this ambitious and multi-layered film is the crowning achievement of Vlacil’s career and one of the undiscovered cornerstones of world cinema. With Josef Kemr, Frantisek Velecky, Magda Vasaryova and Ivan Paluch. 102

&

Introduction by Peter Hames and Mehelli Modi

Thursday 8 November, 6.30 pm

Riverside Studios, Crisp Road, London W6

Box Office: 020 8237 1111

£6.50/£5.50

One Night in One City (12)

Jan Balej, Czech Republic, 2006, 76’

A mosaic of mysterious and extraordinary stories of loneliness set in the dark streets of Prague by Jan Balej (Fimfarum 2). What happens when a man stitches a stranger’s ear onto his own head? Do you think there are places where time grinds to a halt? Do you know what disturbs the routine of an insect circus, what a city hunter could be up to and what excites his neighbours? Can fish make friends with a tree? A puppet horror movie with plenty of black humour, weird events and the strange people that surround us all the time.For those who like Tim Burton or Jan Svankmajer.

&

Lucie Is Still in Bed (12)

Jitka Rudolfova, Czech Republic, 2006, 28’

An intimate portrait of a young woman’s journey through life as a model, a student of documentary filmmakingand an unhappy wife expecting her second child.

Thursday 8 November, 8.45 pm

Riverside Studios, Crisp Road, London W6

Box Office: 020 8237 1111

£6.50/£5.50

Grandhotel (15)

David Ondricek, Czech Republic, 2006, 95’

The infamous and architecturally splendid Jested Grand Hotel serves as a backdrop to the lives of Vlasta Fleischman, repairman and amateur meteorologist and Ilja, a beautiful kleptomaniac maid, characters who wile away the days, consumed by dreams and schemes. Making perfect use of the unique atmosphere conveyed by communist era interior design, the film by David ‘Loners’ Ondricek won two Czech Lion awards. With: Marek Taclik, Klara Issova and Jaromir Dulava.

&

Q&A with director and producer David Ondricek

Friday 9 November, 6.30 pm

Riverside Studios, Crisp Road, London W6

Box Office: 020 8237 1111

£6.50/£5.50

Indian and the Nurse (15)

Dan Wlodarczyk, Czech Republic, 2006,90’

A masterful tale of subcultures colliding in modern Czech society told with an exquisite attention to detail. A young man obsessed with Native American Indians falls for a young Romany nurse who is already engaged to a local Romany. Their relationship not only has to face prejudice and distaste, but also atavistic tribal solidarity within the Romany community, the alternative white Indians and the majority society. A Romeo and Juliet story takes place with some hard contemporary truths that mirror the somewhat changing perspectives of central Europe.

&

Maksym Kozak (15)

Radek Pluhar, Czech Republic, 2005, 5’

Animated videoclip for music group ‘Ahmed ma hlad.‘

Friday 9 November, 8.25 pm

Riverside Studios, Crisp Road, London W6

Box Office: 020 8237 1111

£6.50/£5.50

Something Like Happiness (15)

Bohdan Slama , Czech Republic, 2005, 102’

A poignant drama examining the intertwining stories of three childhood friends trying to find their place in life. Monika has a boyfriend in the US and plans to emigrate. Tonik loves her but lives with his aunt on a rundown farm. Dasa has two children. When Dasa suffers a breakdown and is confined to a psychiatric ward, they take charge of her children and it seems like a new start …Best Czech film 2005, Winner at the San Sebastian and Montreal film festivals in 2005. With Tatiana Vilhelmova, Pavel Liska and Ana Geislerova.

&

The Bead (15)

Marie Dvorakova, Czech Republic, 2006, 15’

The dream and the reality in the life of a working girl.

Saturday 10 November, 4.15 pm

Riverside Studios, Crisp Road, London W6

Box Office: 020 8237 1111

£6.50/£5.50

Marcela (15)

Helena Trestíková, Czech Republic, 2006, 82’

This documentary is the authentic story of an ordinary woman, part of a fascinating film project tracing six newly-weds that Trestikova begun in 1980, following their lives as both a friend and filmmaker. Marcela is one touching piece of a compelling jigsaw. Marrying in 1980 Marcela couldn’t foresee her problems with housing and a marriage that would ultimately end in divorce and tragedy. The relationship unravels before our eyes, revealing a woman in an inadequate social environment and a less than satisfactory relationship. Individual in narrative, this is an intimate picture of a turbulent life that also discreetly mirrors the transformations in Czech society over the last quarter of a century.

&

Meat on the Plate (15)

Jitka Rudolfova, Czech Republic, 2004, 10’

Three women waiting in three flats…

Saturday 10 November, 6.15 pm

Riverside Studios, Crisp Road, London W6

Box Office: 020 8237 1111

£6.50/£5.50

It’s Gonna Get Worse… (18)

Petr Nikolaev, Czech Republic, 2007, 84’

A bold, raw, uproarious portrait of youth adrift in 1970s Czechoslovakia. Based upon a legendary and banned cult novel which was distributed only in photocopied form, It's Gonna Get Worse is an underground conspiracy film, with characters whose lives centre on music, drinking and dodging the military draft in the communist regime. Beautifully shot on 16mm, peopled with hugely engaging characters, this true rebel movie is an expansive, provocative, touching account of life on the edge. Featuring music by The Plastic People of the Universe. Plus Q&A with director Petr Nikolaev

&

Carnival of the Animals (18)

Michaela Pavlatova, Czech Republic, 2006, 10’

An animated erotic fantasy with music. This playful celebration of eroticism, men and women is presented in a light, exaggerated and humorous form based on music by Camille Saint-Saens.

Saturday 10 November, 8.20 pm

Riverside Studios, Crisp Road, London W6

Box Office: 020 8237 1111

£6.50/£5.50

Beauty in Trouble (15)

Jan Hrebejk, Czech Republic, 2006, 10’

Recent history intrudes on present-day life in this masterful multi-character drama. The beautiful young mother Marcela lost everything in the floods that swept through Prague, and is living in a spartan flat next to the shop run by her husband. Deepening and expanding the overarching ideas of fate, love and redemption, the film touches upon complex inter-personal relationships in modern Czech society. Marcela must choose between two men: her undeserving but beloved husband, and an affable, well situated elderly foreigner. A simple plot develops into an intricate genre piece with an unexpected ending. With Ana Geislerova, Jana Brejchova, Jiri Machacek

&

Adam and Eve (15)

Klara Hajkova, Czech Republic, 2006, 4’

Animated film about love which gives life to mankind.

Sunday 11 November 2 pm

Riverside Studios, Crisp Road, London W6

Box Office: 020 8237 1111

£3

Let’s Come and Play & Disco Party (in Czech for under fives)

Bretislav Pojar, Czechoslovakia, 1960 – 1975, 68’

Beloved animated heroes ‘Bears’ playing out their stories (They Met at Kolin, You Don’t Sniff round Princesses); two naughty kittens, tireless rogues who want artist Honza to paint everything for them (Drawing for the Cats); and four boys discovering wonders in a hidden ‘Garden’ (Animal Lover; That Great Fogg) offer imaginary follies and games to the smallest audiences in this tribute to Czech animation filmmaker Bretislav Pojar. Followed by disco.

The sequel to successful Jan Werich’s Fimfarum, four animators of different generations provide adaptations of Werich’s stories ‘for small kids and clever adults’. ‘Uncle, Why Is the Sea Salty?’ is about a magic coffee grinder; in ‘Three Sisters and One Ring’ sisters compete for a ring by trying to ridicule their husbands the most; ‘The Hunchbacks of Damascus’ is the tale of a trio of ugly brothers; while Tom Thumb’ rises from his bewitched origins to adventures with a family of giant Snow Eaters and the King. Original, beautiful and grotesque puppet animations for all to enjoy.

&

Little Fairy Tales (PG)

Kristina Dufkova, Czech Republic, 2006, 5’

A charming animated film using childrens' drawings and narration.

Sunday 11 November 7.35pm

Riverside Studios, Crisp Road, London W6

Box Office: 020 8237 1111

£6.50/£5.50

Little Girl Blue (12)

Alice Nellis, Czech Republic/Slovakia, 2007, 95’

Julie, a translator, has just moved into a dream house with her husband Richard and teenage daughter. The news of the death of favourite singer Nina Simone results in the impulsive purchase of a piano triggering a day-long emotional journey which changes her life. An acting comeback for the singer and violin player Iva Bittová.

With Iva Bittova, Karel Roden, Martha Issova and Ivan Franek.

&

From the Lives of Mothers (12)

Kristina Dufkova, Czech Republic, 2005, 8’

About a reckless offspring and its caring mother.

Tueasday 13 November, 6pm

Curzon Soho,99 Shaftesbury Av., London W1D

Box Office: 0871 7033 988

£5.50/£4.50

The Loyal Guard: Czech Gallery Movies and Videoart

Various directors, Czech Republic, 2004 – 2006, 55’

This programme illustrates the various possible ways of approaching film and a variety of young Czech artists working today. Katerina Seda documents an event through which she brings together her parents and their adult child; Eva Jiricka uses film to capture performance base artwork, other artists use ‘filming’ to realise a dream, metaphor or image. Over a period of several years artist Michal Pechoucek worked his way from creating arrangements of ‘images in movement’ to the feature film masterpiece. The encounters between fine artists and filmmakers once more reveal the fact that ‘movies’, moving images, constitute a homonymous medium. It exists in various contexts and trying to identify them again gives us an opportunity to question the true essence of film. The best thing about it, of course, is the uncertainty.

Curated by Pavel Klusak.

Thursday 29 November, 7.45 pm

Institut francais, 17 Queensbury Place, London SW7

Box Office: 020 7073 1350

£5/£4

Lost Holiday (12)

Lucie Kralova, Czech Republic, 2007, 84’

A suitcase with rolls of undeveloped film found by a Czech tourist in a Swedish dumpster triggers a documentary detective story – a three year search for six unknown tourists, possibly Chinese, who have lost their holiday snaps. A film about a journey, identity and the testimonial power of photography in the contemporary interconnected world. Best documentary film at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2007.

&

Q&A with Lucie Kralova

The screening is a part of Voyage; Festival of European Documentary Films organized by European cultural institutes and embassies in London.

This touring tribute to a new generation of Czech filmmakers includes a wide range of recent international successes. Among them are ‘Beauty in Trouble’, a beautifully shot study of love and redemption by Jan Hrebejk,; ‘Grandhotel’, a quirky new film by David Ondricek; and Dan Wlodarczyk’s‘The Indian and the Nurse’, an unusually sensitive take on Czech-Roma relations. The programme also includes the stunning puppet animation, ‘Fimfarum II’, based on Jan Werich’s legendary tales, and the moving feature documentary ‘Marcela’.The season is complemented by the offbeat ‘undergound’ film ‘It’s Gonna Get Worse…’, a story of drop out culture in the 1970s that has already gained a cult following.

FOR ALL TICKETS PLEASE GO TO : www.picturehouses.co.ukor call the box office on 0871 704 2068